On Thursday, Virginia Tech was lucky enough to host Nasim Pedrad for the spring comedy show. Most of you probably know her better as Ally from “New Girl” or as Jake Peralta’s sister in “Brooklyn 99”.
She started the show off by roasting Tech and some of our school traditions. She compared our love for chicken parm to feeling like being at Olive Garden. She was also in disbelief over our school’s song being “Enter Sandman” by Metallica and spent the next few minutes trying to comprehend how Virginia Tech is an engineering and football school all at once. She ended her intro and roast session by asking what was in a Rail that everyone was so afraid of.
Pedrad talked more about how she got to where she is now and the ups and downs she faced throughout her career. She has been on Saturday Night Live from 2004 to 2009 and gave us some insight into how much time and effort goes into the production of a single skit on the show. She currently also has her own show that she is writing and producing in the works! We can be expecting this show, in which Pedrad plays a fourteen-year-old boy, in September. Keep in mind, Pedrad is a thirty-seven-year-old woman, so this should be very entertaining!
Towards the end of the show, Pedrad decided to have people from the audience attempt a table-read for a fake SNL skit. There were many people who were eager to volunteer and act on stage in front of everyone. There was one girl who raised her hand to play every character and finally got chosen to play Chris Hemsworth. She had absolutely no resemblance to Chris Hemsworth, but her acting was very entertaining.
After the fake SNL skit, she ended the show with a Q & A session. The most important question that was asked was by a student studying acting who was wondering how Pedrad dealt with self- doubt, criticism, and being a woman in comedy. Her response, which she emphasized applies to anyone in any field of work, was to be confident, keep working hard, and push through because things could always be worse and they will always get better.